Light collecting front sight for firearms



s l 16, 1952 J. T. DICKINSON LIGHT COLLECTING FRONT SIGHT FOR FIREARMS Filed Jan. 16, 1950 JOHN T. DICKINSON 3nventor attorney Patented Sept. 16, 1952 LIGHT COLLECTING FRONT SIGHTFOR r FIREARMS] M John T. Dickinson, same; Wash. Application January 16, 1950, Serial No. 138,899

. t 1 I v I This present invention is drawn to a front sight for fire arms in which the, upstanding portion of 'the sight that is normally viewed in silhouette against the target is formed of acrylic resin of the type whose light conducting properties are well known. In forming a sight from this material rather extensive side areas are presented for the collection of light, and in use this light is conducted to the rear edge of the sight, which is that portion viewed by the shooter when the fire arm is in use. When so arranged, the maximum intensity is given tothe light on the rear edge of the sight making. it particularly adaptable for use when light is poor, as in twilight or at dusk.

' Ever-since the creation of rifled arms particularly, mankind has been endeavoring to produce a front sight for such weapons that would make it possible to more effectively use the fire arm for accurately aimed fire when general conditions are such that the light intensity is of a low order. This condition occurs in early morning shooting and shooting towards evening. Many attempts have been made in the pastto produce such a sight, the earliest known examples probably were to use ivory, because it was white. Other sights have. been produced in which sulphurous compounds were used, so that the phosphorescent glow, which could be obtained fromthe old sulphur match tended to give an outstanding appearance to the front sight. The next recognized development was in the use of the so-called gold bead sights, wherein a high copper alloy was usually employed which could be .burnished to give the appearance of gold. Although in some of our early fire arms, particularly dueling pistols, we find that actual gold was employed for, this purpose, this was not a common practice.

These various sights were some improvement over the plainrdark metal front sights, especially the bead sights, which, in effect, reflected light themselves. Riflemen soon determined, however, that the very fact that these sights refiected light workedto the disadvantage of the rifleman in endeavoring to get accurate aim fire. The reflection from the front sight would, in effect, change its position on the sight with varying changes of the light source. Consequently an actual error was introduced in sights. Military riflemen have long been aware of this condition and for the sake of accuracy, have blackened. theirv front sights, as with camphor or acetylene Smokeand while they improved the accuracy of'the sighting, they went backward in collecting light, in their endeavor to make it 2Claims. (o1; ssiy possible to use their weapon under adverse conditionsl-Many steps have been made to provide special illumination for the front sight. This-has been achieved by having, what might be, termed a sky-light, cut in a hood which fitted over the front. sight. In this way top light was directed on the aiming portion of the sight, and the same remained substantially constant. Another. attempt at the same problem has been to employ reflective surfaces, which, in efiect, were small mirrors so pitched as to illuminate the margin of a sight visible to a shooter. All of these various arrangements have been found to improve conditions for the shooter under certain conditions only.. They were not all-around sights, which could be used under conditions as the shooter found them. The sights of this present invention, however, are believed to fully satisfy the shooters particular problems, and in dis-' tinction from the elaborate arrangements, many times oifered in the past, this present invention solves the problem in a very simple manner.

The principal object of this invention therefore is to provide a front sight for firearms which.

will have the faculty of collecting light impinging on its lateral surfaces and this light or at least a very substantial part of it is conducted to that surface which is facing the shooter and which he uses as the silhouette of the front sight.

;A further, object of this present invention is to provide a light collecting front sight for fire arms which is very economic-ally constructed, which does not involve complicated accessory structuresand which, can, by. the same tokenj be very economically produced.

H A further object ,of this invention is to provide. a light collecting front sight which is adaptable to all the various forms of mounting, which are incidental to the adaption. of front. sights to our various formsoffirearms.

Further 3 objects} advantages will be apparent from the description and dis or are inherent in theclevice. V

In the drawings; A Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a gun sight for use onthe muzzle end of a firearm and showing the usual dovetailed mounting arrangement so commonly used on rifles especially;

Figure 2 is'a perspective view showing a semiclosure in the drawings, or may be comprehended beadtype of sight and the form employed for.-

use in certain-types of hand guns, as revolversv and pistols; Y Figure 3 is a View in perspective showing a form offfrontsight of the type wherein the sight, portion is readily removable from a mounting and capabilities full length. ,throughbead, andis. a formnpf sight quite generallyiemployed on hunting rifles;

Figure 6 is a perspective view showing a protective guard and reflector for use on my sight.

the dovetail portion ll of Figures 1 and-4 to give the general proportions of portions and M of Figure 1 and thus increase the surface available for collecting light.

' In referring to the drawings, it will be noted that Figures 2 and .5 show blade type sights. These are for use as replacements in those sight structures thatare. built up. outoflmetal to accept a-lbl ade type sightv whichiimay beidf any-desired form. Normally/bead sights arepredominantly -used in hunting and the flat top sight normally Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings, the numeral l0 designatesthe body portion a: this new-sight. Itconsists essentially of a sheet of light conducting plastic-material, of which acrylic resin is an example, that is used in target shooting. for theselsightsjcomes approximately half way up 7 7 However, the mount 'on'the sides of the same and gives a large degree transparent, normally, although certain 'of its 1 desirable properties may be retained even though the material maybe translucent. The highest degree of light transmission, however, is obtained in the transparent materials, whichare preferably colored; Itisconceivable that for various-types of background that the .color of sigjht-couldjbe varied so as; to provide a distinct o ontrast; Experience has shown, however, that Consequently, a from sight that appears red when viewed from-the shooting position will give a marked degreeof contrast against. the greatest number of-targets andxhackgrounds;

"T choice of color is of considerable importance As-itemsareviewed, 'somezcolors that 11001:;

:onbright days look 'fad'ed'or dull onic'loud'y I .-"IT1-is*variationin the spectrum of day'- light takes place in going from the open into the shade, ,as in hunting, when one goes from the open areas into'the brush or into the dens'e'forest. lfnthe dense forest, the light appears greenish owing to the scarcityof the yellow rays, hence any substance in which red and yellow predominate appears black, and makesn'o contrast with lilac fgtall'suchfas is 'used'infsomany front sightsi Most substances available for constructionofjgunsights def not themselves produce light; 'l'heyinerely have the appearance of'color from abilityto reflect light; and ii "the "light available for their refle tion' ifs ofisome characteristic huegdueto the effectoflocal'foliageon the light; "for, instance, it tends to reflect that color,

and therefore i'sfno t insharp; contrastwhenusedi under those conditions. This sig'ht, iffnade in. ciear jplastie,"wo-uld be guilty'otthe same fault. Howeverywhen anappropri'ait dye is used. inv the, material. togive it-a definite color, thati'color will predominate 'and, as' far' as ftheuserf is. conrn tfitt t a colo *flfhefexactfform of body ,HTwill, bf necessity,

neeam bevariedin order to accommodate this principle to the various forms of'front sightsnow used-'onfirearms. 'In "the accompanying drawi'ngs siiz differentfor'lns'areshownwhich are very representativeofthe wide range of designslwhieh. must be supplied in'order to make this front sight adaptable to the various forms .of. firearms towhichitcan lieefiectiVeIy fitted; In keeping with the experienceobtained withvariousiorm's of'ivory; copper alloygfbra'ss, and silver-blade sights} it hasheen found desirable to employ, preferably; a steel mounting unit. as" is' common with so many of the otherforms of "front-sights i'n orde'i that =a-durable-, shock-resistingtform of sight canbe supplied to the shooter. It 'willf'be understood; itisbelieized; that the blade form.

sfprobablythe. mostadvantageousycolor red occurs-only seasonal ly;normaily, in nature.

, .ot support and protection to the sight. The sight "in'Figure l, which is probably the more commonly used. ozr'rifleawe'rnploys a dovetail male portion [2,,which is adapted to fit into a corresponding dovetailed slot in the muzzle end of the gun. It i will .then be noted thatfthe sides, formed of the same metal-"as l4, extendjonly part way: up on thebodyfilaofthe sight. This-gives relatively large-sideareas, exposedso that light can bepickedup andythen passedflthrough the resin-ox" plastic-material and provides 'a' high degreeof illumination tothe edge portion l:6, 'which' faces theshooter and which, in effect,' becomesthat portion ofsight hcsees when aiming. In this form-of sight ithas been found-convenient to use'a surface reflector at I 8 so that anylight that will passf'down through body 10- willb'e reflectedba'ckjupfrom reflectorf8 and add tothe volumeof light'available 'on-surfaceifi.' W I In the bracketedviewofl igure '3 unusual-pains have been taken to fully protect body Hi" ofthe sight from" damage: This has-been achieved by providingthe parallel'j disposed .ribs' as 20 and 21,1'one, on each side' ofthe-sightso that-in case thearm is droppfid or is bumpedagainst some'obj'ectgthetribs 210 and H can beexpected' to take: the shock. This arrangement'is not newin-principle, in thatit has long been employed orrm'ili taryrifles offoreign manufacture and, 'in'recent, yearsyon our own service rifles inthis countryyas tlieGara-ndand carbine M1 an outstanding exeample beingin the :Enfield rifieithe modems-17in; which the side members extend considerably above the frontsightfbladef V In lthevievr-oiiFigure'3a,detachahlesightris showmin'which a'dovetailed slot" is providecl at 23, which is adapted to" engage abase block: 24", which is secured to the? muzzle of-tl're gun by aplurality of-screws'as: 2.6.1 'Alookingscrew- 2'8"is provid'e'd tosecure the sight'base .30 in fixed relationship to block when in use, yet'provi'dingfor; theeasy detaclre merit of-sightbase '3 ll;gparticularlyjwhen-itjisde sired tofuse an? alternate telescope sighton the rifief In thisform'of sight-'toprovida'ion the" one hand, for. the easy mountingo'f; body nland to further'provide a 'conveni'ent way o'f emplfoythere, i's'provi-deda secondary mounting member,

32f which. fits; preferably, into a dovetailedsl'oti irfrbase"S'ilffasritis'believedit'willbe readiiyiunder Stud ,"bv viewingigure ,3,"-so that thesight'bod'y" efilcient refiectingfmeans is'fprovideii It; 1 These 'curvedi ing adtl itiqnal. light on tofbiad blade l9. Small transverse ribs or other means may be formed on surfaces 36 and 31 to prevent the reflecting surfaces from directing any light back to the shooters position.

In Figure 4 has been illustrated the muzzle of a shotgun. Here, due to the thin wall of the gun barrel 40, it has been found desirable to provide a relatively thin metal band 42, which is given a U-shaped form at 44 which will accept a body having a beveled bottom section II. This form is believed to be well illustrated in Figure 4; and again, a convenient means is provided for the changing of the plastic sight member l0, and the metal forming portion 44 can be finished to give it reflective properties to further the effective use of this form of sight arrangement.

In Figure 6 a typical sight base 54 is shown which may be taken as representative of any desired type of base. The sight, H), of light transmitting material, is secured to said base and a protective shield 58 disposed to protect the sight from damage from all directions. The shield is slotted at 59 and thus is disposed on each side of the sight. The shield then should be formed to fend off any damage from the sight and be firmly secured to the baseas by having its ends inserted in slots 60 and 62 of the sight base 54. The various surfaces of shield 58 may be finished to provide reflective surfaces to direct light into sight 56.

The exact shape of the plastic light-transmit ting material which forms the blade portion of this sight may conform in shape to any of the standard forms of front sights. Figures 1, 3, and 4 show blade type of sights, either with a vertical face facing the shooter, or with a curved or inclined face after the showing of Figure 1. Any other form of sight may be made of this material. The top line of the sight, as 46 may be so sloped that the margin closest to the shooter may be higher if that form of sight is desired. Similarly, the various forms of under-cut or overhandling sight blades can be formed if desired. In Figures 2 and 5, two forms of bead sights have been shown; one, in Figure 2, the semi-bead in which a bead-like form is shown in outline at 48, which merges into the thinner portion of the sight blade at 50, and second, the full bead form, wherein the side facing the shooter is desired to be semi-spherical. This may be arranged as at 52 in Figure 5, and the size of the bead can be maintained throughout the length of the sight, after the showing of the figure. The opening shown in Figure 5- and the circular opening, elongated opening and slot shown in Figure 2 are typical of the various openings formed in usual sight blades to correspond to clamp means on muzzles of various types of rifles. From this large variety of illustrated forms, it is believed it will be evident that any of the accepted styles of sights can be made to embody the principles of this invention.

Throughout this description reference has been made to acrylic resins as most desirable. This is due to the fact that these resins have a 6 high light transmission factor, normally between 88 and 92 per cent, and their ability to pipe light is well proven. These plastics form an excellent base for fluorescent materials and under certain conditions of use are very effective as gun sight materials. The choice of plastic material for gun sights is not limited to acrylics as the following may also be used: cellulose acetate and butyrate, cellulose nitrate, ethyl cellulose, polystyrene and the vinyls all have light transmission properties which can be used to advantage. No doubt other plastics will be developed which will lend themselves to this use.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the inventtion comprehends a novel construction of a light collecting front sight for fire arms.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. In a front sight for fire arms, the improvement, comprising: a member forming a blade of the sight formed of material having the property of high transmission of light; said blade member being colored to contrast with the color of the foliage; a reflecting member positioned in intimate contact throughout the entire bottom edge of said blade member to reflect light passing from said blade member back into the same; and a guard member disposed at either side of said blade member to guard the same, said guard member being formed as curved surfaces with their center of generation substantially on the vertical plane of said sight blade.

2. In a front sight for fire arms, the improvement, comprising: a blade member forming the upstanding portion of the sight, the material forming said member being of the type having the property of high transmission of light; a secondary mounting member enclosing the bottom margin of said blade and providing a reflective means for reflecting light back into said blade; and a protective shield for said blade member having a central slot in which said secondary member is positioned, and said protective shield having inwardly curved reflective -surfaces, for reflecting light into said blade member, extending from a point near the forward base of said blade member to a point at the rear of said blade member.

JOHN T. DICKINSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 793,016 Murray June 20, 1905 803,969 Bassell et al Nov. 7, 1905 1,346,303 Dawson et al July 13, 1920 1,982,058 King Nov. 27, 1934 2,181,081 Ganaway NOV. 21, 1939 2,399,431 Gazda Apr. 30, 1946 2,430,469 Karnes Nov. 11, 1947 2,486,940 Garber et al. Nov. '1, 1949 2,553,540 Beckerman May 22, 1951 

